Improved check stand



uqrdmx March 5, 1957 w. H. CRAWFORD ETAL IMPROVED CHECK STAND Filed.Oct. 14, 1953 .Fksosemz WHA/Qrup, Myuvva E ,CQA WA'OQD,

JNVENTORS.

BY ,drrae/vsy United rates Patent IMPROVED CHECK STAND Wayland H.Crawford, San Gabriel, and Frederick W. Hartup, Covina, Calif.,assignors to Modern Village Stores, Inc., a corporation of CaliforniaApplication October 14, 1953, Serial No. 386,037

Claims. (Cl. 312- 1403) This invention relates generally to check standscommonly used to facilitate the checking of articles purchased ingrocery, drug and other self-service stores, and particularly to a checkstand embodying an improved end guard means.

Check stands currently in use consist generally of a rectangular cabinetalongside of which, or within the confines of which, a checker assumes aposition to check items purchased by the customers who deliver thearticles to the stand in carts having baskets for holding the selecteditems. Such a check stand has a top or platform upon which the articlesare placed, the platform, or sections thereof, serving as supports for acash register, weighing scale, etc. A recently designed check stand isprovided with a motor-driven conveyor belt which extends around pulleysand longitudinally of the stand with the upper portionof the beltmovable substantially in the plane of the cabinet top or platform.

The conveyor belt functions to feed the items, placed on the belt at theloading end of the stand, past the checkers station where their sellingprices are recorded and tallied on the cash register. The articles thentravel to the other end of the check stand where they are placed inbags, cartons or other containers for delivery to the customer.

It is an object of our invention to obviate the difiiculties referred toabove by providing a check stand having an end guard assembly which isso constructed and arranged that the guard rail may flex when struck byan article so as to prevent denting of the guard or loosening of thesame. This object is attained by fastening the ends only of the guardrail to the check stand frame, the rail thus being adapted to bow orflex throughout substantially its full length andthus absorb the shockload imposed by the articles contacting the rail.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guard rail assembly inwhich the rail is formed from a metal alloy possessing resiliency, therail being, however, of structural shape, for example of substantiallychannel shaped cross section, capable of withstanding considerable forcewithout permanent deformation.

Another object of the invention is to provide a guard rail assemblyincluding mounting blocks secured to the cabinet at the sides thereof,said blocks having contours corresponding to the inner contour of thechannel-like rail to adapt the ends of the latter to be placed over theblocks. A related object is to provide a guard-rail assembly in whichthe rail has an inwardly directed lip or bead along one longitudinaledge thereof, said bead under lying the bottom surfaces of the blocks atone side thereof to retain :this edge of the rail in place, the oppositeedge portion of the rail being secured as by screws, against the otherside of the blocks to secure the rail firmly to the mounting blocks. Bythis specific mounting means, the rail may be quickly and easilyinstalled on and removed from the check stand-cabinet.

Further objects of the invention are to provide an end guard assemblywhich is simple in construction and'ec'oice nomical to produce, onewhich is strong and durable in use, and one'which, due to the curvedcontour of the rail, enhances the appearance of the check stand.

Further objects of the invention will 'appearfrom the followingdescription and from the drawing which is intended for the purpose ofillustration only, and in which:

Figure l is a plan view 'of a check stand embodying the present improvedend guard assembly;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged cross sectional view, taken on line 22 of Fig. l;V

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the guard rail or bumper; and

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the delivery end of v the checkstand, illustrating the manner in which the bumper bows or flexes whenstruck by an object.

Referring first to Fig. l of the drawing, the check stand illustratedtherein is similar to the check stand dis-closed in a pendingapplication, Serial No. 356,961, filed May 25, 1953, and entitledImproved Check Stand, reference being made thereto for a completedescription. Suffice it to state herein that the check stand embodies arectangular cabinet 5 having a table-top or platform composed ofsections 76, 7, 8, '9 and ill. The various sections are so located inspaced relation as to provide a longitudinal opening 12 which extendsdiagonally from the loading end 13 of the check stand to a pointadjacent the delivery end 14 thereof.

Adapted to travel Within the opening 12 is the upper stretch of aconveyor belt 15 which extends around pul leys located beneath the tabletop, one of said pulleys being driven by an electric motor (not shown)also located beneaththe top of the cabinet. By this means, the belt 15is driven in the direction of the arrow so as to feed the articles fromthe end 13 to the end 14 where they may be placed in suitable containersby an attendant stationed at this delivery end.

The cabinet 5 has a cut-outopening providing a compartment 18 in whichthe checker stands to check the items being fed by the conveyor belt 15.Alongside the compartment 18 is a shelf 19 for supporting a cashregister 20. The area of the top section 6 directly opposite thecheckers station provides a support for a weighing scale '21. .A pivotedswitching arm 22 is provided adjacent the delivery end 14 for divertingthe articles to either of the sections 9 or 10 as desired.

Guards or bumpers 24 are employed for preventing ,of the stand andadapted to receive the articles diverted thereinto by the pivoted arm 22as they leave the delivery end of the conveyor belt 15, the arm beingpivoted to a small platform 31 extending between the sections 9 and '10.

Extending lengthwise of the sides 28 within the cabinet structure areside bars 35 and secured to these bars by screws '36 are mountingbrackets 37 which project upwardly therefrom. Secured to the upper endsof the brackets '37 by screws 38 are mounting blocks ii). As shown inFig. 2, each block 40 has a sloping bottom edge 41, a substantiallyvertical inner edge 42 and a curved edge 43.providing the top and frontportions thereof.

Adapted to extend .across the check stand between the mounting means 37and 40 is a bumper element or guard rail 50. This rail, which is shownin detail in Fig. 4, is

tion 52 and a curved web 53 connecting the side flange portions. Asshown, the curves of the side flange portion 52 and web are coextensiveto provide a continuous curved surface extending from the upper portionof the straight flange to the lower edge of the curved flange. The loweredge of the side flange 52 extends to a considerably lower level thanthe flange 51 and has an external bead 54 extending therealong. Thelower edge of the straight flange 51 is provided with an inwardlydirected lip 55 having an upper inclined surface corresponding to theslope of the lower edges 41 of the mounting blocks 40. The end guard 50,which has mounting holes 56 at its ends, is mounted for use in themanner to be next explained.

The outline of the portion of the guard rail formed by the curved flangeportion 52 and the curved web 53 is of substantially elliptical or ovalshape, the lower edge being tangential with the rear surface of theinwardly inclined end member 29 and the upper edge being tangential withthe straight flange portion 51. The major axis of the ellipse, it willbe noticed, is inclined at its upper end toward the straight flangeportion 51.

To install the end guard in place to extend transversely across thedelivery end of the check stand, the guard is first placed as shown bythe dot and dash outline in Fig. 2. When in this position, the lip 55 ofthe guard is located beneath the inner end of the bottom surfaces 41 ofthe mounting blocks 40. With the lip 55 thus hooked under the mountingblocks 40, the end guard is pivoted in counterclockwise direction, asviewed in Fig. 2, to the position shown by full lines in this view.Since the inside of the end guard is of the same size and contour as themounting blocks 40, it is seen that the end guard sides of the stand.After the end guard has been placed in its operative position asoutlined above, screws 58 are passed through holes 56 and screwed intothe side of the mounting blocks 40, as shown in Fig. 2. It is thus seenthat the end guard is anchored firmly to the mounting blocks to extendtherebetween'and to provide, in effect, a curved molding extendingtransversely across the delivery end of the check stand.

With the end guard thus assembled on the check stand, it provides a stopor bumper against which articles delivered by the conveyor belt 15 ontothe platforms 9 and 10 may engage. directed to Fig. 2 which illustratesseveral articles a, b and c as having been fed to the delivery end ofthe check stand and against the end guard 50.

It is to be noted that this point that the end guard is constructed froma metal alloy possessing resilient characteristics. By thisprovision,'when the article engages the end guard, the guard is flexedor bowed transversely of its axis to a slight degree. To illustrate thispoint, attention is directed to Fig. 5 of the drawing To illustrate thispoint, attention is wherein an article a is shown as having engaged theend I guard with sufficient impact to cause the guard to bow outwardlyas indicated by the dot and dash outline in this view. Such flexing ofthe end guard is made possible by the fact that the end guard is of aresilient the end guard absorbs the shock of impact of the article a sothat damage to the end guard, which may result when conventional endguards are employed, is effectively avoided. Due to the resiliency ofthe end guard, the latter is adapted to return to its normal operativecondition as shown by full lines in Fig. 5 after cushioning the shockload imposed thereupon. This is an important improvement ever checkstand structures of previous types wherein an end guard or stop isfixedly secured to the check stand at spaced intervals along the lengthof the guard and is thus subject to denting or other damage due to theforce of impact of articles forced thereagainst due to the belt action.It has been found that the present end guard will effectively cushionthe shock imposed thereagainst by heavy packages without any substantialdamage to the end guard.

As explained above, the end guard is of substantially inverted channelshape and thus may be regarded as a structural element capable ofwithstanding considerable load imposed from above. That is to say, if aheavy package is momentarily placed upon the end guard, the latter mayflex downwardly to a slight extent but upon removal of the package orother load, the end guard will spring back toits original shape.Thug-the end guard, in addition to providing a resilient stop or buffer,also provides a strong and durable corner at the delivery end of thecheck stand. In addition, the rounded contour of the end guard providesa curved molding which greatly enhances the appearance of the deliveryend of the check stand,

Due to the specific cross sectional shape of the end guard, the lattermay be easily and quickly installed in or removed from the check standas required. To be more specific, the end guard 50 is held in place bythe lip 55 at its inner side and by the screws 58 at its outer side.Thus, to remove the end guard it is only necessary to remove themounting screws 58, after which the guard is simply pivoted upwardly andinwardly to disengage its lip 55 from beneath the mounting blocks 40.With the guard thus disengaged from the end mounting means, it may belifted from the check'stand when such disassembly is desired.

In accordance with the provisions of the patent statutes, there is shownand described herein what is now considered to represent the bestembodiment of the end guard assembly for check stands. It is to beunderstood, however, that the end guard and its mounting means aresusceptible of various modifications which fall within the scope of theinvention, as defined in the appended claims.

We claim as our invention:

1. In a check stand having a cabinet provided with a .top platform: anelongate flexible end guard of inverted channel shape extendingtransversely of said cabinet at an end thereof, said guard having aportion of concavoconvex cross-section disposed above said platform inposition to be engaged by articles placed on said platform at said endof the check stand, and block means engaging the end surfaces of saidinverted channel guard for firmly supporting said guard on said cabinetonly at the ends of said channel guard, said guard being adapted to bowtransversely of its length with respect to said cabinet.

2. In a check stand having a cabinet provided with a top platform: anelongate flexible end guard of inverted channel shape having a curvedcontour throughout the greater portion of its cross-sectional shapeextending transversely of said cabinet at an end thereof, said guardhaving a concave-convex portion disposed above said platform in positionto be engaged by articles placed on said platform at said end of thecheck stand, and means engaging the inner surface of said invertedchannel guard adjacent the ends of said guard for firmly supporting saidguard only at its ends on said cabinet, said guard being adapted to bowtransversely of its length with respect to said cabinet.

3. In a check stand having a cabinet provided with a top platform: apair of transversely spaced mounting blocks carried by the cabinet; anelongate flexible end guard of inverted trough shape having end portionsembracing said blocks whereby said guard is supported adjacent its endsby said blocks; and securing means operative to secure said end portionsto said blocks, the end guard extending transversely of said cabinet atan end thereof with its length intermediate said end portions beingunsupported and free to bow transversely with respect to said cabinet. 1

4. In a check stand having a cabinet provided with a top platform: apair of transversely spaced mounting blocks carried by the cabinet; anelongate flexible end guard of inverted trough shape having end portionsembracing said blocks, said end guard having an inturned, longitudinallyextending lip at one side engageable beneath said blocks at one sidethereof; and connecting screws operative to releasably secure the otherside of said guard to the blocks, the end guard extending transverselyof said cabinet at an end thereof with its length intermediate said endportions unsupported and free to bow transversely.

5. In a check stand having a cabinet provided with a top platform: apair of transversely spaced mounting blocks carried by the cabinet; anelongate flexible end guard of inverted trough shape having end portionsembracing said blocks, said end guard having an inturned,

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS155,570 Collins Oct. 18, 1874 202,042 Miller Apr. 2, 1878 1,013,506Miller et a1 Jan. 2, 1912 1,805,584 Kemp May 19, 1931 2,539,781 HeaneyJan. 30, 1951 2,569,711 Foster Oct. 2, 1951 2,599,909 George June 10,1952

